Why Doesn't God Answer My Prayers?

WHY DOESN'T GOD ANSWER MY PRAYERS?

“So, I say to you, ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.” (Luke 11:9)

We've prayed so long and so hard without any results. There is great assurance that he hears every prayer. He has made everything beautiful in its time. The longer a prayer is delayed, the more perfect it will come forth at last. The deeper the silence, the louder the answer.

"So, I say to you, ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you." (Luke 11:9)

We pray, but get no answers. We've prayed so long and so hard without any results. "Doesn't he see my needs?" "Doesn't he care about me?" "If God's ear is open to my prayer, and I pray diligently, why is there such little evidence of His answering?"( Things go on as usual—nothing happens). "How long must I wait?" Is there one certain prayer you have been praying for a long time that has not been answered?

The devil's final strategy in deceiving believers is to make them doubt the faithfulness of God in answering prayer. Satan would have us believe that God has shut His ears to our cry and left us to work things out for ourselves (reference - joesebeth community). Let us be careful not to charge God, as did Job, with being slothful and unconcerned about our needs and petitions. Job complained, "I cry out to you, but you do not answer me; I stand up, and you do not regard me" (Job 30:20). His vision of God's faithfulness was clouded by his present difficulties, and he ended up accusing God of forgetting him. God rebuked him soundly for it.

The first thing you need to be assured of is that God knows your needs before you even ask (Matthew 6:8). He cares unequivocally about you. "For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." (Jeremiah 29:11). We have great assurance that he hears every prayer.

"In my distress, I called upon the Lord; to my God I cried for help. From his temple he heard my voice, and my cry to him reached his ears. " (Psalm 18:6).

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Below are some of the reasons why our prayers are not answered:

1. Our prayers can be hindered by a secret grudge lodged in the heart against another. If you know that someone has a legitimate grievance against you, how can you sincerely approach God in prayer? Uncorrected problems with brothers are extremely detrimental. Christ will not deal with anyone with a wrathful and unforgiving spirit. We are commanded to "lay aside all malice, envy, and evil speaking, and as newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the Word" (1 Peter 2:1, 2). Lift up holy hands, without wrath and doubting. Our prayer may be hindered—by lying in any sin we commit against God ("If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear"-Psalm 66:18") or, in wrath, by not forgiving our brother or sister ("And when you stand praying, if you hold anything against anyone, forgive them, so that your Father in heaven may forgive you your sins."-Mark 11:25-26).

Remember the Lord’s prayer, "Forgive us, as we forgive others."

2. Our prayers are not answered when they are not in accordance with God's Will. We can pray for whatever we want, as long as it is God's will. "If we ask anything according to His will, He hears us" (1 John 5:14). The disciples were not praying according to God's will when they prayed with vindictiveness and revenge. They petitioned God, "Shall we command fire to come down from heaven and consume them?" Jesus answered, "You do not know what manner of spirit you are of" (Luke 9:54, 55). Daniel prayed the right way; first, he went to the Scriptures and searched out the mind of God. Having gotten clear direction and sure of God's will, he runs to God's throne with a mighty assurance;" And I set my face unto the Lord God, to seek by prayer" (Daniel 9:3). We know too much about what we want and too little about what he wants.

3. Our prayers are not answered because of our lustful and worldly desires. God always hears our prayers. He loves us and wants the very best for us. But we don’t necessarily understand and pray for what is the very best for us. Our prayer purposes are wrong when we ask for blessings for the use and encouragement of our worldly desires. "Ye ask and do not receive because you ask amiss, that ye may consume it upon your lust" (James 4:3).We pray to wear good clothes to gratify our pride and not glorify God. If we seek anything that we may serve God with, we may expect that he will grant our heart desires. He sees the beginning from the end, and he has many things to teach us. We can plan our lives and think we have everything under control. But as we see in Isaiah 55:8-9, God’s thoughts are often different than ours. As humans, we are drawn towards seeking earthly things that will pass away (temporal) but neglect the heavenly things that are eternal (Matthew 6: 19-21). But God’s thoughts are to transform us from our earthly human tendencies and create something divine through our situations in life.